CHAPTER 12
MOTIVATING OTHERS AND DEVELOPING TEAMWORK
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES
There are a variety of theories and practices for motivating others, including financial
motivators. Closely related is the topic of developing teamwork because a group of people
working together as a team are motivated to perform well.
I. DIAGNOSING WORK MOTIVATION
Motivation has two widely used meanings: (1) an internal state that leads to effort
expended toward objectives and (2) an activity performed by one person to get another to
accomplish work. Knowledge of motivation is particularly important in the current era
because so many workers do not feel identified with their work or their employers.
A starting point in being able to motivate people and groups is to understand what
outcomes or payoffs they want from their work. Questions that can be asked might
include:
• What could this job offer you that would make you work at your best?
• What factors about this job would bring out your best?
• What might the company do to make you excited about your job?
• How can I (or we) make your job a wonderful experience for you?
• What would make you feel really good about your job?
A person’s behavior is often more revealing than what he or she says, so you may gain
insights by observing what elements of the job strongly interests workers.
Visit the Accel Team website for a useful article on Employee Motivation: Theory and
Practice at http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/
II. MOTIVATION THROUGH EMPOWERMENT, JOB DESIGN, AND VARIOUS
FORMS OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT?
Standard approaches to employee motivation are empowerment, job design, and various
forms of positive reinforcement including financial incentives, recognition, and praise.
A. Empowerment
Empowerment is the process by which a manager shares power with team members,
thereby enhancing their feelings of self-efficacy. Because the worker feels more
effective, empowerment contributes to intrinsic motivation. Although employees are
empowered, they are still given overall direction and limits to the extent of their
authority.
1. Empowerment as Shared Leadership. Empowerment involves shared
leadership, or the leader granting group members authority to carry out some of
the leadership activities.
2. Two Forms of Empowerment. Employee empowerment often takes the form
of giving customer contact employees more freedom in making decisions. The
when workers establish their own priorities and choose which projects they
would like to pursue.
Self-managed work groups are another frequent form of empowerment
because the groups make many decisions on their own rather than relying on a
supervisor.
B. Motivation Through Job Design and Interesting Work
We begin with the theory of work motivation that has served as the foundation for
motivation through job design.
1. The Two-Factor theory of Work Motivation. The late Frederick Herzberg
developed the pioneering two-factor theory of work motivation. The
theory states two sets of job factors that influence workers. Motivators or
satisfiers can motivate and satisfy workers. Dissatisfiers or hygiene factors can
2. Intrinsic Motivation and Job Enrichment. Motivating people through interesting
work is based on the principle of intrinsic motivation, which refers to a person’s
beliefs about the extent to which an activity can satisfy his or her needs for
competence and self-determination. Intrinsic motivation contributes even more to
productivity when combined with prosocial motivation, the desire to expend
effort to help other people.
Job enrichment refers to making a job more motivating and satisfying by adding
variety and responsibility. A job is considered enriched to the extent that it
Going beyond the formal theory of job enrichment, interesting work also includes
having a sense of purpose. The interesting work is often at team level.
C. Motivation through Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement means increasing the probability that behavior will be
repeated by rewarding people for making the desired response. The phrase increasing
the probability means that positive reinforcement improves learning and motivation
but is not 100 percent effective. The phrase making the desired response is
noteworthy because rewards must be contingent on doing something right for positive
reinforcement to be effective.
1. Rules for Effective Use of Positive Reinforcement. The rules for effective use of
positive reinforcement include:
1. State clearly what behavior will lead to a reward.
2. Choose an appropriate reward.
3. Supply ample feedback.
4. Schedule rewards intermittently. (Intermittent rewards are those that are not
given on every occasion of good performance, tend to sustain performance.)
5. Make the rewards follow the observed behavior closely in time.
6. Make the reward fit the behavior.
7. Make the reward visible.
8. Change the reward periodically.
Positive reinforcement has a long history of improving job productivity. In recent
D. Financial Incentives as Positive Reinforcement
Money is a natural motivator, and no program of motivation can exclude the role
A challenge in understanding the role of money and other forms of compensation is
that they are not pure concepts, and include status and recognition. The following are
factors that influence the effectiveness of financial incentives, and problems with
financial incentives.
1. Linking Compensation to Performance. Variable pay is an incentive plan that
intentionally pays good performers more money than poor performers. Another
approach is to link bonuses to results obtained by the work group or the entire
company.
2. Personal Factors Influencing the Power of Financial Incentives. Individual
differences influence profoundly the motivational power of financial incentives.
A major influencing factor is that money is a good motivator when you need it
badly enough.
3. Problems Created by Financial Incentives. Financial rewards can lead a person
to focus on rewards rather than the joy built into exciting work. After people
receive several increases based on performance, merit pay comes to be perceived
as a right or entitlement. Cash rewards can interfere with teamwork as employees
focus on individual financial rewards. Pay for performance can also result in
attaining goals unethically.
E. Motivation through Recognition and Praise
The workplace provides a natural opportunity to satisfy the recognition need, the
desire to be acknowledged for one’s contributions and efforts to feel important.
Managers can motivate many employees by making them feel important through
both formal recognition and informal recognition.
1. Praise as Recognition. Praising workers for good performance is closely
related to informal recognition. The praiseworthy performance should be
described to the recipient. Managers and team leaders have a good
opportunity to increase motivation by the simple act of praising good deeds
because many workers rarely receive praise.
2. Tailor Praise to Individual Preferences. An advanced use of praise is to tailor
the praise to the needs of the person being praised, much like the diagnostic
approach to motivation. Some evidence indicates that people who do not
perceive themselves to be technically oriented are more positively disposed
toward being flattered. Also, not every employee wants public recognition.
3. Company Recognition Programs. Formal recognition programs are more
popular than ever as companies attempt to retain the right employees and
keep workers productive who worry about losing their jobs or having no
private work area. Plaques and on-the-spot cash awards for good performance
are included in company recognition programs.
IV. STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR BUILDING TEAMWORK
Teamwork is work done with an understanding and commitment to group goals on the
part of all team members. A team is a small number of people who are committed to
common goals and approaches to which they hold themselves mutually accountable. A
group is a collection of people with interact with one another, and are working toward
some common purpose.
Good teamwork enhances, but does not guarantee, a successful team. A list of strategies
and tactics for building teamwork follows:
1. Select qualified members.
2. Be well motivated yourself.
3. Have an urgent, constructive purpose.
4. Compete against a common enemy.
5. Have a culture of teamwork.
6. Use the consensus decision-making style.
7. Minimize micromanagement.
8. Reward the team as well as individuals.
9. Send members to offsite training.
10. Encourage communication among virtual team members.
11. Make appropriate use of a team slogan, logo, and clothing.
Visit the Business Balls website for free Team Building Games Ideas and Theory for
Employee Motivation, Training and Development at
http://www.businessballs.com/teambuilding.htm
VI. UNDERSTANDING GROUP DYNAMICS TO IMPROVE TEAMWORK
DEVELOPMENT AND MOTIVATION
Being knowledgeable about how groups operate is an indirect way for leaders to be
effective at developing teamwork. Group dynamics refers to the forces operating in
groups that affect how members work together. Three elements of group dynamics are
stages of group development, team member roles, and the characteristics of an effective
work group.
A. Stages of Group Development
A key group process is the group’s development over time. The five stages of group
development are:
Stage 1 – Forming: Members learn what tasks they will be performing, how they
will benefit from group membership, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.
standards of conduct (norms). Cohesiveness and commitment begin to develop.
Stage 4 – Performing: The group is ready to focus on accomplishing its key tasks.
The group becomes a well-functioning unit.
Stage 5 – Adjourning: Temporary work groups are abandoned after their task has
been accomplished.
See Figure 12-1 for the Stages of Group Development.
B. Team Member Roles
A major challenge in learning to become an effective team member is to choose the
right roles to occupy. A role is the tendency to behave, contribute, and relate to others
in a particular way. It is helpful for leaders to understand the roles as they attempt to
get the group working together smoothly. See Human Relations Self-Assessment
Quiz 12-2 for an assessment of Team Player Roles.
Belbin Associates identified nine frequent roles occupied by team members.
1. Creative problem solver—Creative, imaginative, and unorthodox. The strength
2. Resource Investigator—Extroverted, enthusiastic, and communicates freely
with other team members. Strength is exploring opportunities and developing
valuable contacts. Potential weakness is being overly optimistic and losing
interest after the initial enthusiasm wanes.
3. Coordinator—Mature, confident, and a natural team leader. Strength is
clarifying goals, promoting decision making, and delegating effectively. Potential
weakness is being seen as manipulative and controlling.
4. Shaper—Challenging, dynamic, and thrives under pressure. Strength is use of
determination and courage to overcome obstacles. Potential weakness is being
easily provoked and ignoring the feelings of others.
5. Monitor–evaluator—Even-tempered, engages in strategic thinking, and makes
accurate judgments. Strength is seeing all options and judging accurately.
Potential weakness is lacking drive and the ability to inspire others.
6. Team Worker—Cooperative, focuses on relationships, and is sensitive and
7. Implementer—Disciplined, reliable, conservative, and efficient. Strength is
acting quickly on ideas and converting them into practical actions. Potential
weakness is being inflexible and slow to see new opportunities.
8. Completer–finisher—Conscientious and anxious to get the job done. Strength is
having a good eye for detail and being effective at searching out errors.
Completer-finishers can be counted on for finishing a project and delivering on
time. Potential weakness is being a worrier and being reluctant to delegate.
9. Specialist—Single-minded self-starter. Strength is being dedicated and providing
knowledge and skill in rare supply. Potential weakness is getting stuck in a niche
with little interest in other knowledge and may dwell on technicalities.
C. The Problem of Groupthink (Too Much Consensus)
Groupthink is a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral
judgment in the interest of group solidarity. It occurs in a group atmosphere where
group members value getting along more than getting things done. As a consequence,
the group loses its powers of critical analysis.
The negative aspects of groupthink can often be prevented if the team leader, or
another team member, encourages all team members to express doubts and criticisms
of proposed or suggested courses of action.
VII. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE WORK GROUP?
Groups, like individuals, have characteristics that contribute to their uniqueness and
effectiveness. See Figure 12-2 for the Key Characteristics of Effective Teams and Work
Groups.
Visit the Great Systems website for a Team Characteristic Summary Matrix at
http://www.greatsystems.com/teamchar.htm
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REVIEW
12.1 How could diagnosing the motivational wishes and needs of employees save a company a
lot of money when launching motivational programs?
12.2 What objection might some employees have to being empowered?
12.3 In what way does job enrichment appeal to the pride some people have in their work?
Copyright © 2017, Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
12-8
level job is given the opportunity to organize a company drive to encourage employees to
user fewer plastic water bottles. The worker perceives this job enrichment activity to be
quite meaningful because it helps preserve the physical environment. The worker is
likely to be proud of what he or she is doing.
12.4 How can a professional-level worker use smiling as a form of positive reinforcement?
12.5 Visualize a cafeteria worker who observes an employee seated at a table who is choking
to death. The cafeteria worker runs over and squeezes the employee back to normal
breathing 9the Heimlich maneuver). What kind of reward would fit the cafeteria workers’
behavior?
12.6 A small percentage of sales representatives’ work strictly on commission. What negative
impact might this pay arrangement have on customers?
12.7 What type of recognition on the job would be motivational for you? How do you know?
12.8 Assume that Jennifer from the tech support center gets rid of a nasty virus in your tablet
computer. What is likely to be an effective statement of praise for her?
12.9 Give an example of one or two group norms that a team of firefighters might have.
All students can visualize the role of a firefighter, which tends to allow for thoughtful
12.10 Identify several of the characteristics of an effective work group that one of your favorite
restaurants possesses. Justify your reasoning the best you can.
COMMENTS ON EXERCISES AND CASES
Human Relations Self-Assessment Quiz 12-1: My Own Motivators
Reflecting on personal motivators can be useful in being a motivated worker, and in making
job choices that lead to satisfaction. For example positive responses to statements 7 (volunteer
work) and 9 (mentoring) suggest the person might be best motivated in work that allowed for
helping others.
Human Relations Self-Assessment Quiz 12-2: Team Player Roles
A benefit of this self-assessment quiz is that it may help sensitize the student to the importance
of playing positive roles within the group. Two examples of quite positive roles are Number 2,
“I regularly compliment team members when they do something exceptional,” and Number 17,
“Simply to get a new member of the team involved, I will ask his or her opinion.” Without
realizing it, many people occupy negative roles when working in a team or group. Two examples
of quite negative roles are Number 5, “I like to hide some information from other team members
so I can be in control,” and Number 19, “Quite often I talk negatively about one team member to
another.”
Applying Human Relations Exercise 12-1: The Job Enrichment Squad
When students attempt to enrich jobs, they often think of increasing the financial incentives,
neglecting the fact that job enrichment refers to enhancing the internal aspects of the job. Of
course, the term “enrichment” sounds as if the incumbent becomes financially richer! The
student task is to find a way to build more responsibility and decision making into each position.
Here are a few possibilities in the direction of enrichment:
• Supermarket cashier: The cashier might be given the responsibility of informally
checking the attitude of customers with respect to there experience in the store. The
cashier from time to time might ask a gentle question like, “How did you enjoy shopping
here today?” The cashier’s impressions would then be fed back to management.
• Highway toll collector: The toll collector might look for hazardous activities within
vehicles, and then make friendly suggestions to the drivers and passengers. However, the
toll collector must first say, “I am not a police officer” to avoid legal entanglements. The
suggestions could be in the form of questions such as, “Do you know that it is dangerous
for people to keep their feet and arms outside the window? Or, “Are you aware of the
regulations about texting while driving?”
• Custodial worker at an educational institution: The custodial worker might be asked to
become an ambassador of good will by being friendly to students, and showing concern
about student welfare. Among the friendly comments might be, “How are you enjoying
your classes?” or, “Is the classroom clean enough for you?”
• Home health aid: The home health aid already has a reasonably enriched job because of
the variety of problems he or she deals with. Nevertheless, it might be possible for the
health aide to provide feedback to the doctor or nurse when the patient or client appears
to have worsened. (Many home health aides may already have such responsibility.)
• Car wash attendant: The car wash attendant might be encouraged to report what appear
to be vehicle problems to the car owner, not as a definitive diagnosis, but as a suggestion
for the vehicle driver to investigate a potential problem. For example, “Have you noticed
that your rear bumper is almost hanging loose?” Or, “The air pressure in your rear
driver’s side looks pretty low.”
• Call center operator for service with mobile phones: We have another position that is
already enriched. Yet the operator might make suggestions for prevention of problems in
the future when appropriate, such as “Had you thought of getting more virus protection?”
or, “Had you thought of upgrading to a more powerful smart phone?”
Finding answers to the five questions may lead to some of the suggestions above. The
questions are also helpful as interviewing practice.
Applying Human Relations Exercise 12-2: Team Member Roles
We regard this role analysis as an advanced human relations skill-building exercise. An
important feature of this exercise is that it challenges the diagnostic skill of students. To be
successful in this exercise, students should carefully study the various roles before watching the
role players and making observations about the roles.
Some of the roles may not be apparent in one meeting, yet the student can look for whatever role
behavior emerges. It is realistic for students to be able to find examples of some of the roles, but
perhaps not all. Below are examples of the type of behaviors or comments that could illustrate
the various roles presented in the textbook chapter.
1. Creative Problem Solver: A student makes a good suggestion, such as asking battered
adults and children what type of support would be the most helpful to them.
2. Resource Investigator: A student mentions a valuable contact outside the group who
could be a good resource, like speaking to a relative who is a CEO of a company that
went through a major downsizing.
3. Coordinator: A student emerges to assign tasks to different people in the group, such as
assigning one person the task of finding how many teams in the region are using the same
mascot name that the group has assigned to a short list.
5. Monitor-Evaluator: A student calmly sits back and declares to the group, “What exactly
are we trying to accomplish here?”
6. Team Worker: A student listens to the many suggestions being proposed about a new
team mascot names, smiles, and makes supportive comments, such as “Oh, I like it.”
8. Completer-Finisher: A student keeps reminding the group that we have to decide real
9. Specialist: A student claims that he or she has done research on downsizing and knows
all about the effective alternatives to downsizing.
The self-oriented roles could be expressed in student actions such as pushing an idea no other
group member favored, or trying hard to attain individual recognition.
Human Relations Class Activity: A Survey of Positive Motivators
professionals.
12.11 What suggestion can you offer Craig Dental Arts for enhancing the motivation of the
hygienist staff?
12.12. How advisable would it be for Cindy and Ben to discuss the possible motivational
problem with the hygienist staff?
12.13. How valid is Dr. Craig’s concern about a motivational program being too hokey?
12.14 What role, or roles, is Ruth occupying on the cost-reduction team?
12.15 How effective does she appear to be in her role?
12.16 What role, or roles, is Jack occupying on the cost-reduction team?
12.17 How effective does he appear to be in his role?
12.18 How effective is Carlos in his role as a team leader?